Volunteers transcribed, typed and indexed the Lawrence County, Missouri, entries from the 1850 Federal Census. Included is an appendix of the 1850 Slave Schedule for Lawrence County transcribed by Lawrence County Historical Society member William B. Landers. The book is indexed by first and last names of heads of household and inmates. This is among Lawrence County Missouri Historical Society publications reprinted by the Society in 2018 as Heritage Editions.

Persons with the surname McRae, or several variations thereof, are listed by state. Information was taken mainly from U.S. censuses from 1790 to 1850.

Offers a guide to census indexes, including federal, state, county, and town records, available in print and online; arranged by year, geographically, and by topic.

From the beginning of French rule of Missouri in 1720 through this state's abolition of slavery in 1865, liberty was always the goal of the vast majority of its enslaved people. The presence in eastern Kansas of a host of abolitionists from New England made slaveholding risky business. Many religiously devout persons were imprisoned in Missouri for "slave stealing." Based largely on old newspapers, prison records, pardon papers, and other archival materials, this book is an account of the legal and physical obstacles that slaves faced in their quest for freedom and of the consequences suffered by persons who tried to help them. Attitudes of both slave holders and abolitionists are examined, as is the institution's protection in both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution. The book discusses the experiences of particular individuals and examines the Underground Railroad on Missouri's borders. Appendices provide details from two Spanish colonial census reports, a list of abolitionist prison inmates with details about their time served, and the percentages of African Americans still in bondage in 16 jurisdictions from 1820 to 1860.